LR reading strategy

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• 1 Like

  jdawg113 Alum Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 2654 karma

  that just sounds like a bad idea imo, if you misinterpret what you think it is asking you will be in trouble. There are often AC's that would be correct if the stem was different
• blah170blah Alum Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 3545 karma

  Completely agree. The question stem should dictate how you read the stimulus. Without it, you're wasting time reading blind.
• Will Dearborn Alum Member

  April 2015 edited April 2015 218 karma

  Some question stems require you to critically evaluate the argument, while performing this same task on other different question stems can be detrimental. So the question stems are used to determine the way you're going to read the stimulus depending on what they require. Imagine if you had a main point question, without reading the question stem you might waste time critically evaluating the argument i.e. finding gaps/weaknesses, conditional reasoning, etc. When all you would need to do is simply label the premises and conclusion.
• kclubs323 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 275 karma

  @nordeend I've heard of a strategy in which you read the stimulus first before reading the question stem, but never one of ascertaining the question stem by reading the stimulus. In many of the older PTs I've seen very similar, if not completely identical, stimuli with completely different question stems. With that said, I don't think the method of reading the stimulus to determine the question stem is a viable LR strategy.
  As for whether it's better to read the question stem first and then the stimulus or vice versa, I'm not sure how to advise you on that. 7Sage teaches us to read the question stem first because it instructs us how to read the stimulus and guides us on what we need to look for. However, I do think it's not entirely bad or detrimental to read the stimulus first, figure out if it's an argument or just contextual information, and then go into the question stem. It really depends on what works best for you. Good luck!
• 2 Likes

  alexroark5 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 812 karma

  @nordeend I have had this same question and a former manhattan instructor on TLS who went to columbia law had a very insightful response. Below is our discussion. I hope it helps!
  
  Hi Christine,
  
  I just wanted to ask your opinion on this matter. I have been through both the Manhattan LR book as well as the Powerscore LR Bible. While there are a lot of similarities in the material of both, one important way that your two companies disagree is in whether or not to read the question stem first.
  
  I know that Manhattan recommends to read the stem first in order to employ the appropriate strategies in attacking a particular question type.
  
  I am wondering however, how the writers of Manhattan would respond to Powerscore's objection that reading the stem first requires the test taker to juggle too many ideas at once in their head making their job of understanding the stimulus more challenging (especially on more complex stimuli). Do you think this is a legitimate concern that Powerscore is raising with regards to the strategy of reading the stem first?
  
  Thank you for your time!
  
  -Alex
  
  Alex!
  
  So sorry for my delay in responding to you. This week has been wildly busy!
  
  My short answer is that I vehemently disagree with the underlying assumptions in that particular objection. So, here's the thing - one doesn't read the question stem in order to determine a grand and complex operating strategy. Instead, you read to determine more generally whether a question is an Inference question or an Assumption-family question.
  
  That completely changes my mindset in how I read, and I would be mentally holding my breath without that information. I want to know, before I begin, if I'm supposed to be skeptical of this idiot author, or completely accepting of this factual information. These two are such wildly different mental states that without knowing which one I'm in, I'd be hamstrung in processing the information from the jump. I'd have to just hang on to it, and then *reanalyze it* when I finally hit the stem.
  
  The stem, therefore, is not some random, additional piece of information to "juggle", but rather a clear cut instruction on the WAY that I am supposed to read the stimulus. If I don't know *how* to be reading the stimulus, I'll just have to do it again once I figure out what my job is supposed to be.
  
  If I'm in an assumption-family question, I'm hunting for the premise-->conclusion core right from the jump, and already assessing the gaps as I read. But for inference questions, I'm just taking in the information as true, and not hunting for a premise and conclusion that generally aren't there.
  
  So, again, rather than complicating the task of reading, I believe the stem information clarifies the task, right from the beginning.
  
  What are your thoughts?
  
  ~Christine
• nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 7965 karma

  @alexroark5 I find it deeply irksome the way Powerscore comes down so hard in favor of ALWAYS reading stimulus before question stem. They come down way too hard (with lots of Sturm und Drang but shoddy evidence) against reading stem first and give paltry evidence in favor of their position.
• nordeend Alum Member

  April 2015 349 karma

  Thanks all...great responses
• alexroark5 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 812 karma

  
  I personally read the stem first, and then read the stimulus. However, I'm not convinced that the issue of whether or not it is a better strategy to read the stem first vs second is so clear-cut. I think powerscore does bring up some legitimate concerns with the approach I've adopted (and that many other prep companies have i.e. manhattan, 7sage). I know a good amount of people who have scored in the 170s and about half read the stem first and half read everything in the order given. I'm not sure the issue is critical in the first place.
• 2 Likes

  emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 3462 karma

  The question stem is the most crucial part in making sure that you're answering each question right.
• alexroark5 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 812 karma

  I would argue that the question stem and the stimulus are equally important to answering questions correctly.
• 1 Like

  nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 7965 karma

  I just do whatever the voices in my head (JY and Mike Kim) tell me to.
• mpits001 Alum Member

  April 2015 938 karma

  @alexroark5 I guess it's just one of those things that can go either way. 50% of the people may find reading the stimulus first easier and vice versa. Personal preference? The way our brains are wired individually? I had my AP Lit teacher tell us to write the essay and then write the intro. Test takers should try both and whatever gives them the best result they should adopt. The Logic behind what Christine said is not bad, knowing what to look for or how to approach the stimulus before even reading it can be advantageous. Reading the stimulus before the questions comes naturally because it's what we've been doing the longest.
• AlexanderL0 Alum Member

  April 2015 239 karma

  For me I have a feeling in my mind when I read an answer and I know it could be correct, but I know there must be a more complete version- thats the only time I would read them all. Also when i'm stuck i'll use POE. Hope this helps, I don't get the highest PT scores but I do hit -7 to -4 frequently on LR
• AlexanderL0 Alum Member

  April 2015 239 karma

  Sorry I didnt see what you were asking, definitely read the stem first
• nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 7965 karma

  @AlexanderL0 For discussion of what you mentioned RE: "POE," I highly recommend this recent thread: http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2675/lr-read-all-the-answer-choices